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work-related
stress ON THE INCREASE
Work-related stress
has now overtaken musculo-skeletal disorders as the biggest cause of
working days lost through injury or ill-health.
Employers
have a duty to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health,
safety and welfare of their employees at work (Health and Safety at Work
etc Act 1974) and to assess for health and safety risks (Management of
Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999) these duties encompassing
work-related stress.
The HSC has launched an innovative
3-month consultation seeking the views of managers and employers on
proposals to reduce work-related stress. The proposals are based
around a set of Management Standards that will enable employers to:
·
gauge stress
levels;
·
identify causes;
and
·
work with employees
to resolve any difficulties.
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The Standards:
·
comprise clear and
practical statements of good management practice, not new regulations;
·
offer a
non-legislative yardstick to help organisations meet their existing duty of
care and their duty to assess the risks to work-related stress; and
·
highlight the
components of good organisation, job design and management that keep stress
levels in check and enhance productivity.
The HSC has designated work-related
stress as a top priority. Rather than eliminating all stress or
pressure in the workplace, the HSC want to help employers recognise and
manage the risks sensibly.
"Work-related stress is not the
reasonable pressure which is part and parcel of all work and which helps to
keep us motivated. It is the kind of excessive pressure that undermines
performance, is costly to employers and can make people ill.
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